home | table
of contents | previous | next
D. Justices’ Top Individual Lawyers
| Money to | No. of | |||
| Lawyer | Justices | Firm | Interest | Checks |
| Frank L. Branson | $27,500 | Law Office of Frank L. Branson | Plaintiff | 6 |
| Joseph D. Jamail III | $26,000 | Jamail & Kolius | Plaintiff | 6 |
| Richard W. Mithoff | $22,202 | Mithoff & Jacks | Plaintiff | 5 |
| James E. Coleman, Jr. | $18,386 | Carrington Coleman Sloman… | Defense | 17 |
| Ben F. Vaughan III | $17,750 | Graves Dougherty Hearon… | Defense | 8 |
| Steven L. Gordon | $15,750 | Lipnick & Gordon | Defense | 21 |
| John Howie | $15,000 | Howie & Sweeney | Plaintiff | 3 |
| H. Lee Godfrey | $12,100 | Susman Godfrey | Defense | 3 |
| Tommy Jacks | $11,000 | Mithoff & Jacks | Plaintiff | 4 |
| Jesse R. Pierce | $10,450 | Clements O'Neill Pierce… | Defense/Plaintiff | 4 |
| John M. O'Quinn | $10,000 | O'Quinn & Laminack | Plaintiff | 2 |
| Robert M. Martin, Jr. | $9,900 | (former) Storey Armstrong… | Defense | 19 |
| Marvin S. Sloman | $9,950 | Carrington Coleman Sloman… | Defense | 23 |
| Harry M. Reasoner | $9,280 | Vinson & Elkins | Defense | 11 |
| Arthur H. Rogers III | $9,250 | Fulbright & Jaworski | Defense | 16 |
| Michael T. Gallagher | $8,234 | Gallagher Young Hampton… | Plaintiff | 3 |
| Eugene A. Cook | $8,000 | Bracewell & Patterson | Defense | 10 |
| Fred Misko, Jr. | $8,000 | Fred Misko, Jr., PC | Plaintiff | 2 |
| David W. Shuford | $7,850 | Shuford & Assoc. | Defense | 6 |
| Stephen Susman | $7,800 | Susman Godfrey | Defense | 2 |
| David Crump | $7,750 | Haynes & Boone | Defense | 18 |
| Thomas A. Fulkerson | $7,500 | Clements O'Neill Pierce… | Defense/Plaintiff | 2 |
| William R. Pakis | $7,500 | Pakis Giotes Beard & Page | Defense | 11 |
| William D. Sims, Jr. | $7,500 | Vinson & Elkins | Defense | 7 |
| B. Lee Ware, Jr. | $7,500 | Ware Snow Fogel & Jackson | Defense | 2 |
| Total | $302,152 | 211 |
| Justice | Plaintiff $ |
| O'Neill |
$176,908
|
| Hankinson |
$160,590
|
| Abbott |
$141,375
|
| Enoch |
$78,249
|
| Baker |
$49,465
|
| Phillips |
$48,184
|
| Gonzales |
$9,600
|
| Hecht |
$8,569
|
| Owen |
$6,351
|
| TOTAL |
$679,291
|
The justices received a total of $302,152 from the 25 individual attorneys
who have written the biggest personal checks to the justices. While plaintiff
law firms did not surface among the top contributing law firms listed on
the previous page, plaintiff lawyers account for eight of the top 25 individual
attorneys contributing to the justices. Indeed, the three top individual
attorneys contributing to the justices are the plaintiff lawyers Frank
Branson, Joe Jamail and Richard Mithoff.
| Election | No. of | Plaintiff | Avg. Plaintiff $ |
| Cycle | Justices | Money | Per Justice |
|
|
|
$14,920
|
$7,459
|
|
|
|
$97,649
|
$48,825
|
|
|
|
$557,122
|
$139,280
|
|
|
|
$9,600
|
$9,600
|
|
Total
|
|
$679,291
|
$75,477
|
An interesting trend emerges when the money from plaintiff lawyers and law firms is broken down by election cycle. The most conservative members of the current court (Hecht and Owen) got negligible plaintiff money when they defeated well funded Democrats in 1994.
In subsequent elections, however, the plaintiffs’ bar has escalated
its contributions to the winning candidates who are so often hostile to
their interests. Even in the most recent election cycle (1998), however,
the justices took $4 from defense attorneys for every $1 they took from
plaintiff attorneys.